Cooking Up An Identity Ragin’ Cajuns Hope To Finish Without Stumbling Against WSU

Travis Schwartz’s fuel for his trip from the breadbasket to the bayou was the chance to change.

A chance to change a life that had barely been beyond the borders of Kansas. And a chance to change a Louisiana-Lafayette program that has barely been beyond the .500 mark (427-424) in its 91 years of football.

So far, the former has proved easier than the latter.

“It’s different.” said the Lafayette linebacker. “I’ve tried food that I’ve never heard of before.”

Well, you’re not in Kansas anymore. As for changing the fortunes of the Ragin’ Cajuns? Ninety-one years of heartburn can’t be cured with just one player.

“We’re working on it, but we’re not there yet,” said the Kansas native who will travel with his team to Pullman for a game with Washington State on Saturday.

In fact, the Ragin’ Cajuns are working on their third straight losing season. They are 1-4, 113th in Division I in offense and 112th in defense. There are 114 teams in Division I.

Last week, they showed some fight in a 41-31 loss to Louisiana Tech. And remember, Louisiana Tech beat Alabama, which turned around and beat No. 3 Florida. So, of course, Washington State coach Mike Price’s assessment was this: “If you go by that, we’re playing a top-five team.”

You’ll have to excuse Price, who is still a little giddy over breaking that 12-game losing streak last week with a win over Cal.

But while the Ragin’ Cajuns are not quite top-five material, or even top 105 for that matter, they do have some players who can do some damage on the field. Schwartz is one of those guys.

The junior college transfer has started every game this season. He is second on the team in tackles with 35. He has forced one fumble and recovered another. And he has returned two interceptions for touchdowns.

But, as is evident by their record and their stats, a handful of players is not enough.

“The defense is just giving up too many big plays,” Schwartz said. “We’re able to stay with teams, but then we give up the big play. Like last week (against Louisiana Tech), we played with them and then in the fourth quarter, we just gave up those big plays.”

Louisiana Tech scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to avoid what would have been a huge upset. “We have to learn how to finish,” said Lafayette coach Jerry Baldwin.

Actually, nobody really finished that game well as it disintegrated into a brawl at the 50-yard line after a Tech player sucker-punched junior safety Desmond Williams during the postgame handshake.

“Regardless of who started it … I did not appreciate that and hopefully that won’t repeat,” Baldwin said.

During the game, the biggest fight will probably be between the beat-up offensive line of WSU and the defense of the Ragin’ Cajuns. This is the third week in a row that Lafayette has had to face a passing attack. And for the third week in a row, they plan on blitzing.

“We like to do a lot of that,” said Schwartz. “But the problem is when we blitz we are leaving those guys alone out there and that’s when the big plays can happen.”

On the offensive side, Baldwin has ended a quarterback controversy and thrown his support in the corner of sophomore Derek Dyer. The Cougars, in turn, will be throwing everything they have at the 6-1, 205-pounder. But Baldwin believes Dyer is more equipped to face a Pac-10 defense than senior Barton Folse. Folse started against the Cougars two years ago when WSU won 77-7.

“He’s (Dyer) throwing the ball well and he’s running the ball well which gives us an added dimension when he’s in the game,” Baldwin said. “The fact of the matter is that Derek is moving the ballclub when he’s on the field, and that’s the bottom line. It’s who’s getting the chains moving. Derek’s doing that.”

Now the Ragin’ Cajuns have to find some more players can help them change direction. Baldwin and Schwartz believe that change is starting to take place.

“We’re not the old USL football program,” said Baldwin. “We’re headed in a different direction and we’re going to be better.”

Take a kid for free

Washington State is sponsoring a “Take a Kid to the Game” promotion for Saturday’s doubleheader at Martin Stadium.

WSU plays Louisiana-Lafayette at 1 p.m., followed by Idaho against North Texas at 6 p.m.

The promotion enables an adult to buy a $10 general admssion ticket, which will also allow up to two youths under 18 to attend the WSU game for free. The ticket can be exchanged for free admission to the UI game.